Nazism

Flag of theNazi Party

Nazism(orNational Socialism;German:Nationalsozialismus) is a set ofpolitical beliefsassociated with theNazi PartyofGermany.It started in the 1920s, but the Nazi Party gained power in 1933 and started carrying out their ideas in Germany, which they called theThird Reich.They stayed in power in Germany until 1945, when they lostWorld War II.

Nazism is afar-right,fascistideology that is heavily inspired from the works ofOswald Spengler.The Nazis believed that only the Aryan (German) race was capable of building nations and other races, notably the Jewish race, were agents of the corruptive forces ofcapitalismandMarxism,both of which the Nazis opposed. They considered the Aryan race the 'Master race', which meant that they thought that the Aryans were the most biologically evolved of humans. They adaptedCharles Darwin'stheory of evolutionand applied it to humans, the practical application of this was calledeugenics.

Adolf Hitler,the leader of the Nazis, wanted to a create a country where all Aryans were treated equally. They spent heavily on poorer people and began several huge government programs to help Germany deal with the unemployment and economic crisis caused by theWall Street Crash of 1929and theGreat Depressionwhich followed it. Some Nazis, such asErnst Röhm,wanted the reforms to go further and called for a revolution, eliminating economic classes in Germany and for the government to take control of major businesses. Many of these Nazis were murdered on Hitler's orders during theNight of the Long Knivesbecause they were a threat to his leadership of the Nazi Party. In a September 18, year 1939 editorial,The New York Timesreacted to the signing of theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pactby declaring that "Hitlerism is brown communism, Stalinism is red fascism" The editorial further opined:

The world will now understand that the only real 'ideological' issue is one betweendemocracy,liberty and peace on the one hand anddespotism,terror and war on the other.

The Nazis blamed the Jewish people for Germany's defeat inWorld War I.This is known as the Stab in the Back Myth. The Nazis also blamed the Jewish people for rapid inflation and practically every other economic woe facing Germany at the time as a result of their defeat in World War I. For this reason, the Nazis not only viewed the Jewish people as inferior to them, but as oppressors of the Aryan people who were creating inequality. The Nazis' tactic of lazily albeit effectively blaming the Jewish people for all of Germany's problems is apropagandatactic known asscapegoatingand was used to justify the great atrocities committed by the Nazis against the Jewish people.

To implement the racist ideas, theNuremberg Race Laws(created in 1935) banned non-Aryans and political opponents of the Nazis from thecivil-service.They also forbid anysexual contactbetween 'Aryan' and 'non-Aryan' persons.

The Nazis sent millions of Jews, Roma,and other peopletoconcentration campsanddeath camps,wherethey were killed.These killings are now calledthe Holocaust.

The wordNaziis short forNationalsozialist(supporter of theNationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) in theGerman language.This means "National Socialist German Workers' Party".

Nazi rise to power (1919–1934)

Adolf Hitler,the leader of Nazi Germany, wrote a book calledMein Kampf( "My Struggle" ). The book said that all of Germany's problems happened because Jews weremaking plans to hurtthe country. He also said that Jewish andcommunistpoliticiansplanned theArmistice of 1918that endedWorld War I,and allowed Germany to agree to pay huge amounts of money andgoods(reparations).

In November 1923, the Nazis tried to overthrow the democratic German government that had been set up after WWI. Nazi thinking emphasises conflict and violence, and believes that these are the best way to sort out political problems. The Nazis had therefore set up their own private army, called theSturmabteilung (SA)which were sometimes known as the 'Nazi stormtroopers' or simply the 'brownshirts'. Many political parties had their own private armies at this time in Germany to guard their events and meetings from the private armies of other political parties. The attempt to take power is referred to as the Munich Putsch or Beer Hall Putsch and was crushed after less than 24 hours.

After the Putsch, Hitler was imprisoned for six months and the Nazi Party briefly banned. It was allowed to exist again in if it promised to only be democratic. The Nazis agreed, but made it clear that if they took power in Germany, they would turn Germany into a dictatorship. The Nazis believed in something called the Führer Principle, which means that they believe that all groups should be organised like armies, with absolute loyalty shown to the leader of the group. They wanted to apply this principle to Germany. They disagreed with democracy, because they believed that it divided groups which made them weaker.

The Nazis performed very badly in elections until the early 1930s, where they became exceptionally popular. This can be partly explained by a massive increase in poverty in Germany caused by theWall Street Crash of 1929,and Nazi promises to rebuild German strength and pride. However, this is not the only reason for the Nazis coming to power, because it still took more than three years for Adolf Hitler to becomeChancellor of Germanyafter the Crash.

On the night of the 27 February 1933 and 28 February 1933, someone set theReichstagbuilding on fire. This was the building where the GermanParliamentheld their meetings. The Nazis blamed thecommunists.Opponents of the Nazis said that the Nazis themselves had done it to come to power. On the very same day, an emergency law calledReichstagsbrandverordnungwas passed. The government claimed it was to protect the state from people trying to hurt the country. With this law, most of thecivil rightsof theWeimar Republicdid not count any longer. The Nazis used this against the otherpolitical parties.Members of the communist andsocial-democraticparties were put into prison or killed.

The Nazis became the biggest party in the parliament. By 1934, they managed to make all other parties illegal.Democracywas replaced with adictatorship.Adolf Hitler became leader (Führer) of Germany, and had the power to make any laws he wanted.

Nazi was Hitler's standard during his run asPresident of Germany

Life in Nazi Germany (1934–1945)

The Nazis changed Germany to fit their ideas of what a country should be like. They created atotalitarian state,which is a country where the government tries to have total control over ordinary people's lives.

In schools, several subjects were changed to fit a Nazi interpretation. History was taught to emphasise German military victories and blames Jewish people and Marxists for defeat in WWI. Children were also taught racial hygiene lessons, where pseudo-scientific racist principles taught to them. In 1936, all German children had to be members of theHitler Youthwhich was a Nazi version of theScouting movement,and was designed to prepare them to be soldiers in wars against other races.

People who opposed the Nazis were seen as traitors. The Nazis created a very effectivepolice state,led byHeinrich Himmlerand his deputyReinhard Heydrich.They were in charge of an organisation called theSchutzstaffel (SS)that took control of all of the police forces in Germany. The SS also set up a new secret police organisation called theGestapowhich hunted down people who wanted to protest against the Nazi government. Enemies of the Nazis were regularly tortured, put inconcentration campsor executed.

Attacking other countries

See also:Invasion of Poland (1939)andOperation Barbarossa

As the German leader (Führer) of Nazi Germany, Hitler began moving Nazi armies into neighboring countries. WhenGermany attacked Poland,World War IIstarted. Western countries likeFrance,Belgium,and theNetherlandswereoccupiedand to be treated by Germany ascolonies.However, inEastern countries,such asPolandand theSoviet Union,the Nazis planned to kill orenslavetheSlavic peoples,so that German settlers could take their land.

The Nazis madeallianceswith otherEuropeancountries, such asFinlandandItaly.Every other European country that allied with Germany did it because they did not want to be taken over by Germany. Through these alliances and invasions, the Nazis managed to control much of Europe.

The Holocaust

See the main article:The Holocaust

See also:Holocaust victims

In theHolocaust,millions of Jews, as well as Roma people (also called "Gypsies" ),people with disabilities,homosexuals,political opponents, and many other people were sent toconcentration campsand death camps inPolandand Germany. The Naziskilled millionsof these people at the concentration camps withpoisongas. The Nazis also killed millions of people in these groups by forcing them to doslave laborwithout giving them much food or clothing. In total, 17 million people died, 6 million of them being Jews.

Victory of the Allies

In 1945, theSoviet Uniontook overBerlinafter defeating theGerman armyinRussia.The SovietRed Armymet theAmericanandBritish armies,who had fought right across Germany afterinvading Nazi Europe from Normandyin France on June 6,1944. The Nazis lost because theAllieshad many more soldiers and more money than them.

During the invasion of Berlin, Hitlershot himselfin a bunker with his new wife,Eva Braun.Other Nazis alsokilled themselves,includingJoseph Goebbelsjust one day after Hitler named him as his successor. The Nazissurrenderedafter the Red Army captured Berlin.

Nuremberg Trials

See the main article:Nuremberg Trials

After the war, the Allied governments, namely the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union, heldtrialsof the Nazi leaders. These trials were held inNuremberg,Germany. For this reason, these trials were called "theNuremberg Trials."The Allied leaders accused the Nazi leaders ofwar crimesandcrimes against humanity,includingmurdering millions of people(in theHolocaust), of starting wars, ofconspiracy,and belonging to illegal organizations like theSS(called, "Schutzstaffel",in German). Most Nazi leaders were foundguiltyby the court, and they were sent to jail or sentenced to death andexecuted.

Nazis after the war

See the main article:Neo-Nazism

There has not been aNazistate since 1945, but there are still people who believe in those ideas. These people are often calledneo-Nazis.Here are some examples of modern Nazi ideas:

• Germanic peoplesare superior to all other races of people.
• Many neo-nazis change "germanic" to "all white people".
• Theyspeak against Jewsand sometimes other races. For example:
  • They say thatthe Holocaust did not happen,and that it was made up by the Jews.
  • They say that Hitler was right to blame Jewish people for Germany's problems after World War I;
  • They tell people tohateJewish people and other groups of people.
  • They believe that Jews have too much power in the world.

After the war, laws were made in Germany and other countries, especially countries in Europe, that make it illegal to say the Holocaust never happened. Sometimes they also ban questioning the number of people affected by it, which is saying that not so many people were killed as most people thinkwho wrote this?There has been somecontroversyover whether this affects people'sfree speech.Certain countries, such as Germany,Austria,andFrance,also banned the use of Nazisymbols.It is also banned to make a Nazi pledge position on a popular media source to stop Nazis from using them.

Related pages

• Adolf Hitler
  • Mein Kampf
• Nazi eugenics
  • The Holocaust
  • Nazi concentration campsanddeath camps
• Holocaust victims

Other websites.

• "Nazi - Encyc".Encyc.Retrieved2018-04-03.